Secret Santa
by moose-girl6
Summary: The gang exchange Secret Santa gifts. This is a Secret Santa present in itself for dreamersscape on tumblr.


Hello! I'm so so so sorry that this is so late – I've had a touch of a mare, but it's all okay now! Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year!

Xoxox

Your Robin Hood Secret Santa

The lights were twinkling all along Sherwood lane. The doors tightly closed to the wind and rain kept their cheer with bright wreaths and baubles. More than one house had left their front curtain open to the night, their trees wrapped in light and shining warmth out into the night.

The house at the end of the street, the one with the Santa on the roof and far too many lights on the tree in the garden, had decided this quiet Christmas Eve was not yet complete. Although the rain drifted over it, the spirit within refused to be dampened. Even from the pavement outside, you would be able to hear the laughter within.

If you opened the front door you would find a pile of shoes - not unusual for this house of strays, but tonight there were more than ever, and the feet they belonged to were all just down the hall. There was steam on the kitchen windows, warmed by the increased number of people, all sitting round the table making the kitchen also doubly loud.  
There were not enough chairs, but that didn't matter because there were stools and a sofa and the kitchen counter, and who cared about chairs anyway when there was definitely enough food to fill the plates.

Robin sat at the head of the table, laughing as loudly as anyone at the terrible jokes pulled from crackers. John was the one who sighed, rolling his eyes and reaching to pile his plate again. Djaq was watching Allan and Will as they slowly wound up their younger brothers, one down from Scarborough for the week, and one up from London.  
They all said nothing could make Will smile, but with his brother before him and his friends around him, there was little that could stop him. Allan, on the other hand, rarely stopped laughing. He could barely get his words out around the turkey stuffed in his mouth, and more than once they had paused to see if he would choke or not. He hadn't yet, but Djaq had bet more than one person that before the end of the meal he would need a Heimlich. She shook her head at him, the fool. But then Will wasn't much better, and the pair of them together were just absurd.

Djaq had spotted them in Marks and Spencer's at around ten o'clock on the Saturday before Christmas, looking anxious near the knitwear. Will was holding a woolly red jumper up against himself, his nose wrinkled at the pom-poms. Allan was standing back as though appreciating a work of art he didn't quite understand. Djaq had her phone in her hand taking a picture before she really thought about it.

 _Bless. I think that's for me?_

Marian's response was nearly instant.

 _It could be worse though, I think Robin is getting me some terrible piece of jewellery. At least that jumper would keep you warm!_

Djaq laughed, and texted back while shifting so she was more hidden from the boys.

 _The fire I'll build to burn it will work just as well._

The next woollen suggestion was worse than the last, with both of the boys looking more concerned by the minute. Djaq looked down at her own basket – slippers and scarves and random confectionary – it wasn't exactly the perfect gift for anyone, but it was definitely better than a jumper that had 'You Sleigh Me' written across it in sequins. She laughed at them as they moved out of knitwear and into the shoe department. The look of bewilderment on Will's face was enough to let Djaq know that they would not be there long.

She shook her head and turned to the escalator, heading downstairs to pay for her probably-okay gifts, leaving them to their definitely-terrible ones.

Last year for Secret Santa Djaq had gotten a lovely handmade scarf from Much. It was very bright and a strange pattern, but his smile was so bright when she opened it, she couldn't help but be warmed by it. Of course she would be happy with whatever was under the tree for her, but seeing them so lost and confused was almost enough of a gift.

The living room was almost as warm as the kitchen, with a strong fire crackling in the grate. When Djaq had first moved in the house had been nice, but a bit lacking in comfort. The sofa was usable, but black leather is always cold. It only took one conversation with Much for a few throws and blankets to appear.  
It was Marian who had been the nail in the comfort coffin for the house, though. When she had turned up at their door, sobbing and hysterical, there had been no question of sending her away. She had stayed in the make-shift bedroom that used to be their dining room for days before she spoke to anyone, and then one morning she was sitting with John in the living with a blanket around her and her arms wrapped around a cushion, and had commented on how the room could do with more.  
At over six feet and with more facial hair than you would expect, John often terrified their neighbours. However the sight of him walking down the street with four fluffy cushions in his arms a day later began a reputation for him on Sherwood lane as the gentlest giant around. He still growled at people who looked him in the eye, but they no longer ran away immediately.

John and Marian's relationship was unexpected, but Djaq was hardly surprised.  
Marian had just lost her father, him having finally given way to the cancer that had plagued him for years.  
John missed his family, his wife having moved north and his son now at university in Scotland.  
Djaq knew for a fact that there was an extra present under the tree for John that looked awfully like train tickets to Edinburgh.

That was what was so special about this house. The doors were never really shut, and once through them, you were part of this family.

They crammed themselves in together now, all of them somehow filling the living room with space still to breathe. Robin took his place the armchair nearest the tree as master of ceremonies. The boys clambered onto the sofa together, half sitting on each other, and half fighting for dominance. Marian, Much and Djaq settled on cushions on the floor. John brought a chair in from the kitchen.

"Welcome one and all!" Robin's teeth flashed as he smiled widely, meeting the eyes upon him. "Welcome," he held out his hands to them, "to the annual Present Exchange of Forest House."

The room fell silent, even the shuffling on the sofa stopped as they all waited with baited breath. Djaq met Will's eye across the room and he gave her a quick grin before looking away. She followed his eyes to Allan where matching shifty looks fell across their faces.

Oh dear.

"As we all know, there is no expectation for anyone to give a gift, but everyone will receive something. Now!" Robin turned, still grinning, and reaching under the tree to the box of gifts nearest him. Marian knelt up to help him hand them out, and in the minute or so of organised anticipation Djaq tried to catch Allan's eye. Will would give nothing away, but Allan could never keep a straight face when Djaq challenged him. Well not usually anyway. His eyes were darting around the room, looking anywhere but at Djaq. She frowned and focused in on where he was looking. The tree. More specifically, the box at the back, the one with green paper and Allan and Will's names on it. Djaq knew exactly what was inside that, having prepared and wrapped it herself, and yet the look Allan was giving it made her more nervous than was necessary. They hadn't- had they?

But the room was picking up volume now, with presents being turned over in hands, eyes peeking through gaps in the paper, ready and waiting to tear into them. Marian was reaching for the box at the back now and Djaq was feeling nervous.

"Djaq! This one's for you!" She smiled as she passed it over, but surely if she knew the mischief in Will and Allan's eyes then she wouldn't have been smiling.

Djaq frowned down at the parcel. The paper was exactly as she had wrapped it, there with the scrunched ends and the ribbon on it fraying just a little bit. But the label was different. When Djaq had wrapped this particular package she had chosen a label that matched the paper, wanting to complete the look. Now a paper penguin was staring up at her, telling her to have a Merry Christmas.

There was no name on it other than her own.

But there was no time to question it, Robin had declared the frenzy begun and paper was flying. Across a room snowing with glitter and cello-tape Djaq was watched by two pairs of eyes as she surveyed the box in her hands. She knew what was in this. She had chosen it and wrapped it, and placed it there under the tree for a purpose. The fact that it was still intact made her nervous, but without declaring before everyone that Will and Allan were cheats in the great game of gifts, she couldn't get out of opening this. That was one of the cardinal rules of the Present Exchange of Forest House: you accept whatever is given to you.

And this booby trap was given to Djaq.

She sighed and pulled at the ribbon.

The flour went everywhere, of course, exploding up and then raining down, like very unimpressive snow. The bang made several of them squeal, Much louder than anyone, but Djaq just sat there, waiting for the two nuisances to crack.

"Don't you like your present, Djaq?" Allan smirked at her through the flour-rain and Djaq had to roll her eyes to stop herself from laughing.

"Idiots."

Even in his outrage Allan was still smirking, "What? That was genius!"

Will shrugged, "Serves you right for booby trapping our presents."

Djaq huffed, and finally let herself laugh, putting the box on the ground and dusting her hands off, "Of course I booby-trapped them, you do this every year!"

"They make your gifts explode every year?" Robin's forehead was creased as he looked between them, puzzled, much like the others in the room.

"No, every year they sneak a look and know what they are getting, so I left something under the tree for them that would stop that." She gave them a pointed look, but Allan just laughed.

"Nah, I'm not being funny, but that was a poor attempt to catch us. You've got to go bigger than an exploding flour bag."

"No, please, for the sake of the carpet, don't go bigger!" Much was looking around at the room, the floor now covered.

"For the sake of Djaq's hair, more like." Will laughed.

Djaq looked up and ran her fingers through her hair. The four tumbled down, making her sneeze.

"Idiots."

"That's what you get for not getting us good presents."

"Rule number one of Present Exchange is that nobody is obliged to give presents! That means you deserve nothing!"

"Yeah, but if you could make the effort to sort that, you could have bought some socks, you know what I mean?"

Robin called an end to the arguing before Djaq could get another insult in. It was probably good timing really, Much was looking rather anxious about the state of the living room.

"Hot chocolate?" John's suggestion cut across the fuss, and Djaq jumped up to help him.

When they returned a few minutes later with a tray of hot drinks, Much had been forced to sit between Allan and Will and accept their apologies. He sighed as Djaq handed him a drink.

"It's okay Much, we'll clean it up." She smiled at him.

He just sighed again, more dramatically this time, "It's just going to get messy again, why bother?"

Djaq laughed, "Oh Much. We have to clean up after messes to make way for the new ones."

Will nudged him gently with his elbow, grinning up at Djaq. "That's what family's for."


End file.
